same store, Everything Silver,
year after year and bought me a piece of jewelry. I loved that story and found
myself laughing softly at the image of a young Sam buying me a bracelet.
I put the
bracelet lovingly in the box my husband made for me and closed the lid. “Oh,
Brian. We did good. We did real good.”
I put the
jewelry box on my dresser. Since I had cleared off some of the little cardboard
boxes, I had plenty of room to give the beautiful maple box the space it
deserved. I went over and grabbed my iPod from my nightstand and popped it in
the dock Brian had on his dresser. I found my favorite playlist and turned it
on.
Walking over to
our closet, I decided to pull out things I wanted to keep or give to the kids
first. That would make packing up everything else easier.
I picked up the
black suit Brian bought last year. Bee and Anthony, Amy and Ben, and Brian and
I had all gone away for the weekend. We decided to splurge and go to The
Greenbrier, a resort in West Virginia about five hours away. Prior to the trip,
all the men went out and bought new suits, and because of that, all three of
the women had to go out and get new dresses. Brian looked so handsome in that
suit. And now Sam, who was just a bit shorter than Brian, could get some use
out of the suit.
On Brian’s 35th
birthday, October 2009, it was a cold mess. I think we turned the heat on in
early September that year. The kids usually bought Brian one nice gift with Sam
putting in the bulk of the money as at that point he was the only one with a
job. But that year Carey helped his older brother with his odd jobs over the
summer. The two boys mowed lawns, house sat, and walked dogs, and Sam babysat.
Anything to earn some extra money. The weekend before Brian’s birthday the two
older boys asked me to drive them to the mall. Jimmy and the girls had given
them their contributions (about 8 dollars total I think). I drove them to the
mall and told them I would pick them up in two hours. Every year the kids had
given Brian something he liked—a movie he wanted to see, a T-shirt with his
favorite superhero on it, something small and simple. But this year they
surprised me. When I picked them up, they refused to let me see what was in the
bag.
“What’s in the
Macy’s bag?” I asked as Sam and Jimmy climbed up into the van.
“Nothing,” they
both answered.
“Really? You’re
carrying around an empty bag?” I smiled at them in my rearview mirror.
“Of course
not,” Sam answered. “But, Mom, we found something so awesome for Dad. Can you
wait until Tuesday to see it?”
I could see how
excited both the boys were, so I left it alone. But I was anxious to see it.
That Tuesday, I ran to the bakery to pick up Brian’s favorite carrot cake, and
I got the ingredients to make him his birthday meal—meatloaf with homemade
mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I ran to get the girls from preschool and
hurried home to start cooking. That night, the boys were bursting at the seams,
and they finally gave up waiting.
“Here, Dad!
Open our present!” Carey put the gift in Brian’s lap.
“Can’t it wait
until after I finish dinner?” Brian smiled at them.
“Dad!” Sam
pleaded, “Come on!”
And so Brian
opened the gift... and our mouths dropped. He pulled out a gorgeous gray
cashmere cardigan sweater. I reached out and stroked the sleeve. It was so soft.
“Wow, that’s a
beautiful sweater!” I couldn’t believe it. I had a few cashmere sweaters, and
this one was expensive.
“Do you like
it, Dad?” Sam asked, his eyes bright with excitement.
Brian had tears
in his eyes, as we finally realized why the boys scrimped and saved all their
summer money. “Like it? This is the most beautiful sweater I’ve ever owned. I
love it.”
And he did. For
the next four years, Brian had worn it every chance he got, and now I wanted
Carey to have it. Sam told me Carey was the one that found the sweater.
Originally, they were going to get Brian a PS3,
year after year and bought me a piece of jewelry. I loved that story and found
myself laughing softly at the image of a young Sam buying me a bracelet.
I put the
bracelet lovingly in the box my husband made for me and closed the lid. “Oh,
Brian. We did good. We did real good.”
I put the
jewelry box on my dresser. Since I had cleared off some of the little cardboard
boxes, I had plenty of room to give the beautiful maple box the space it
deserved. I went over and grabbed my iPod from my nightstand and popped it in
the dock Brian had on his dresser. I found my favorite playlist and turned it
on.
Walking over to
our closet, I decided to pull out things I wanted to keep or give to the kids
first. That would make packing up everything else easier.
I picked up the
black suit Brian bought last year. Bee and Anthony, Amy and Ben, and Brian and
I had all gone away for the weekend. We decided to splurge and go to The
Greenbrier, a resort in West Virginia about five hours away. Prior to the trip,
all the men went out and bought new suits, and because of that, all three of
the women had to go out and get new dresses. Brian looked so handsome in that
suit. And now Sam, who was just a bit shorter than Brian, could get some use
out of the suit.
On Brian’s 35th
birthday, October 2009, it was a cold mess. I think we turned the heat on in
early September that year. The kids usually bought Brian one nice gift with Sam
putting in the bulk of the money as at that point he was the only one with a
job. But that year Carey helped his older brother with his odd jobs over the
summer. The two boys mowed lawns, house sat, and walked dogs, and Sam babysat.
Anything to earn some extra money. The weekend before Brian’s birthday the two
older boys asked me to drive them to the mall. Jimmy and the girls had given
them their contributions (about 8 dollars total I think). I drove them to the
mall and told them I would pick them up in two hours. Every year the kids had
given Brian something he liked—a movie he wanted to see, a T-shirt with his
favorite superhero on it, something small and simple. But this year they
surprised me. When I picked them up, they refused to let me see what was in the
bag.
“What’s in the
Macy’s bag?” I asked as Sam and Jimmy climbed up into the van.
“Nothing,” they
both answered.
“Really? You’re
carrying around an empty bag?” I smiled at them in my rearview mirror.
“Of course
not,” Sam answered. “But, Mom, we found something so awesome for Dad. Can you
wait until Tuesday to see it?”
I could see how
excited both the boys were, so I left it alone. But I was anxious to see it.
That Tuesday, I ran to the bakery to pick up Brian’s favorite carrot cake, and
I got the ingredients to make him his birthday meal—meatloaf with homemade
mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I ran to get the girls from preschool and
hurried home to start cooking. That night, the boys were bursting at the seams,
and they finally gave up waiting.
“Here, Dad!
Open our present!” Carey put the gift in Brian’s lap.
“Can’t it wait
until after I finish dinner?” Brian smiled at them.
“Dad!” Sam
pleaded, “Come on!”
And so Brian
opened the gift... and our mouths dropped. He pulled out a gorgeous gray
cashmere cardigan sweater. I reached out and stroked the sleeve. It was so soft.
“Wow, that’s a
beautiful sweater!” I couldn’t believe it. I had a few cashmere sweaters, and
this one was expensive.
“Do you like
it, Dad?” Sam asked, his eyes bright with excitement.
Brian had tears
in his eyes, as we finally realized why the boys scrimped and saved all their
summer money. “Like it? This is the most beautiful sweater I’ve ever owned. I
love it.”
And he did. For
the next four years, Brian had worn it every chance he got, and now I wanted
Carey to have it. Sam told me Carey was the one that found the sweater.
Originally, they were going to get Brian a PS3,
Similar Books
